Automobile-buffer.



A1 L. MOGREGOR.

AUTOMOBILE BUFFER,

APPLIGATIOH FILED 532129, 1909.

958,426; mente@ May 17, 1910.

- 1| w" HIHIHI 2@ u ww" 12 AUTOM GEILE-BUFFER.

assied Sp ecication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 17, 1910.

Applicatiomled September 29, 1909, Sera-1 No; 5205115.

To a'ZZ whom: 'Etmay concern."

Be it known that I, ALLAN L. MCGREGOR, a citizen of the United" States, residing at Duluth, in the county off St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsV in Automobile'- Buers, of which' the following is a specifi'- cation. v .v

This invention relates to buflers'or bumpers for use on automobiles, and has reference' more particularly to that type of buffer now extensively in use, wherein ahorizontallyv disposed buier-bar is yieldably mounted upon and in advance of the usual springs sup orti'ng the fore-part of the au'- tomobile body.

-Theiriver'rtien has for its general" object to provide a" simple' and? improved' device of' this' tylpe' capable of Vrea'd'y attachment toauto'mob"erframes and securely held in operah tive positi'orr' notwithstanding the jar' and vibration to` which such devices are subjected, which imposes a severe strain upon the attaching parts. In many devices of this character the butter-bar proper' is carried by a pair of inwardly extending rods or arms that are slidably mounted in guides attached to the automobile frame, and are backed by cushioning springs. My present invention departs from this type of buer in that the buier-bar proper is carried by a pair of vertically extendlng arms that are pivoted at their lower ends to supporting ars rigidly secured to the frame, thus giving the buffer-bar an oscillatory 'lateral movement, said arms being backed by cush- `ioning springs which are preferably located in suitable housings formed on or formed inte al with the main supporting bars.

Tii invention, and its mode of operation and advanta es, willbe readily understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved automobile buffer, showing the same as mounted on the forward end of the vehicle frame. F ig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the spring housing being shown in vertical axial section.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the 'forward and downwardly curved end portions of the usual side bars and frame, to the 'forward ends of which are pivoted by hinge-bolts- 11' the usual semi-elliptic springs 12;

13" designates thev buffer-bar in the' usual form, the same being directly mountedin collars 14 clamped' thereto by bolts 15, each of said? collars carrying; an inwardly' projecting hinge-lug 16' that is pivotally con l nected by a' vertical1 hinge-bolt 17 with the forked horizontalx upper'end 18 of' an. elbow arm 19. These elbow arms are pivotally' supported at their lower ends as by pivotbolts 20to the forward downwardly turned y ends of-a pair of main. supporting bars 21C, whichl latter, in turn, are mounted intermediate' their' ends upon 'the pivotbolts 11 of the' vehicle, and are. rigid Y andadjustably jsupportedl by links 22 w "ch connect the jinn'er' or rear ends of saidsuppo'rting bars "with the' side' bars IGI of the Afraane through thr'ead'ed' eyebolts 23' mounted in the latter; 'Each of the supportiiigbars21-hasformed integrally'therewitl'i or' strongly 'secured theretow directly above its forward' portieriJ a spring barrel or housing-24, theforward portion of which .islbngitudinallyslotted in a vertical plane, as shown at 25 to accommodate the buffer-carrying arm 19. These arms 19 are backed by coiled compression springs 26 mounted in said spring housings and confined between the inner ends of the housings and the backs of the arms.

From the foregoin it will be apparent that when the buierar 13 encounters an obstacleit will yield laterally in an inward direction by reason of the angular or swinging movement which the arms 19 have about their pivots 20, the springs 26, of course, opposing a yielding or elastic resistance to such movement. By this arrangement of the parts I dispense with guides for accommodating the reciprocating movement of the usual bar-carrying arms which, in some cases, interferes more or less with the free action of the springs of the vehicle, and substitute therefor an angularly swinging direct support for the buffer-bar that is mounted on devices rigidly connected to the forward end. of the vehicle frame.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the particular forms and relative arrangements of the parts described might be varied in detail without involving any departure from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof. Hence, I do not limit the invention to the particular structure herein disclosed, except to the extent clearly indicated in specific claims. l

I claim:

l. An automobile buffer, comprising in combination a buffer-bar, `supporting bars therefor secured to the forward end of the vehicle, a pair of arms pivoted at one end to said supporting bars and at their other ends connected to said buifer-bar,.slotted guides rigid with said supporting bars laterally engaging and supporting said arms, and cushioning springs backing said arms, substantially as described.

2. An automobile buffer, comprising in combination a buffer-bar, supporting bars therefor secured to the forward end of the vehicle and provided with spring housings, a pair of arms pivoted at one end to said supporting bars and at their other ends connected to said buffer-bar, and cushioning springs in said housings backing said arms, substantially as described.

3. An automobile buer, comprising in combination a buffer-bar, supporting bars therefor secured to the forward end of the Vehicle and provided with vertically slotted spring houslngs, a pair of arms pivoted at one end to said supporting bars and extending through the slots of said housings and at their other ends connected to said bufferbar, and cushioning springs in said housings backing said arms, substantially as described.

4. An automobile buffer, comprising in combination a buffer-bar, supporting bars therefor securedto the forward end of the vehicle and provided with vertically slotted spring housings, a pair of vertical arms pivoted at their lower ends to the forward ends of said supporting bars and extending through the slots of said housings and at their other ends connected to said buffer-bar, and cushioning springs in said housings backing said arms, substantially as described. l

5. The combination with the side bar and semi-elliptic spring of an automobile pivotally joined at their forward ends, of a buffer mechanism comprising a pair of supporting bars mounted on the pivot-bolts of said sidevbarsV and springs and extending both forwardly and rearwardly thereof, each of said supporting bars being Aformed with a slotted spring housing above the forwardly projecting portion of said bar, links connecting the rearwardly .projecting portions of 'said supporting bars to the side frames, a pair ofnpright.v arms pivoted at their lower ends to theforwaid ends of said i" supporting bars andextending through the slots of said housings y and at their upper ends connected tojfsaid buferfbar, `and compression springs :inf said housings backing said arms, substantially as described ALLAN L. McGrREGrOR.Ir Witnesses;

SAMUELJN. POND, MAT'rrE B. Buss. 

